NHL free agency: 10 teams that could be active on July 1

The NHL annual summer free agent signing splurge seems to inspire as many regrets as success stories.

Last summer, the Montreal Canadiens signed Alexander Radulov for one season and wished it was for more. Sam Gagner was a similarly appreciated free agent acquisition in Columbus. But last summer, the Florida Panthers also committed $22.5 million over five years for defenseman Jason Demers and ended up exposing him in the Las Vegas expansion draft last week. The Calgary Flames paid $18 million over four seasons for Troy Brouwer and left him unprotected. (Neither were taken by the Golden Knights.)

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The Edmonton Oilers love their Milan Lucic signing of a year ago.

But would the Detroit Red Wings sign Frans Nielsen (six years, $31.5 million; 17 goals, 41 points, -19 last season) or would the New York Islanders sign Andrew Ladd (seven years, $38.5 million, 23 goals, 31 points last season) if they had a chance for a do-over?

Free agent signings can provide important pieces of the competitive puzzle – such as Ryan Suter with the Minnesota Wild a few years ago or Anton Stralman for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But they can cause salary cap headaches. Remember the David Clarkson deal in Toronto? That 2013 contract has gone from the Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Golden Knights.      

A new season of divining which UFAs can help the most starts Saturday, July 1 at noon ET.

Here’s a look at what some teams are looking for:

Chicago Blackhawks: Defense. Defense. Defense. You can bet coach Joel Quenneville is lobbying Stan Bowman about which free agent defenseman he could live with.

Detroit Red Wings: Need a veteran defenseman with offensive ability, though those will be hard to find. Could they be interested in Trevor Daley? They might also look at Ron Hainsey, and they have interest in Dan Girardi.

Los Angeles Kings: New general manager Rob Blake’s priority has to be to add some offensive players, although he is limited by salary cap constraints.

Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens need a center and a defenseman. Center Joe Thornton is available, and Martin Hanzal might be the fall-back option.

Nashville Predators: General manager David Poile will be working over the holidays, looking for a scorer or two to replace James Neal. Players such as Justin Williams or Thomas Vanek have to be on his list. If Mike Fisher retires, the Predators might need another center.

New York Rangers: After shedding the Derek Stepan and Dan Girardi contracts, the Rangers are $20 million under the cap ceiling. After escaping salary cap messiness, the Rangers have to decide whether they want to risk becoming entrapped again by bidding heavily on Kevin Shattenkirk. Regardless, they could use another defenseman and possibly a center.

Philadelphia Flyers: With Michal Neuvirth currently sitting as the team’s No. 1 goalie, the Flyers are looking at the goalie options.

Tampa Bay Lightning: General manager Steve Yzerman is still searching for another defenseman, and Shattenkirk is on his list.

Washington Capitals: Having lost Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner to free agency and Nate Schmidt to the expansion draft, the Capitals may want to add two veteran defensemen.

Winnipeg Jets: With the talent the Jets have up front, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff knows they can be a contender if they clean up their goals-against average. The Jets believe in Connor Hellebuyck, but they need a veteran goalie to pair with him.